Long neglected by outside powers, the Sahel region stands at the strategic nexus of a number of growing challenges facing the African continent, Europe, and the wider Middle East. This one-day conference brought together leading U.S., European, and African experts to examine trends that drive fragility across the Sahel region, including weak and unaccountable governance, transnational organized crime, religious radicalization, poor natural resource management, rapid population growth, inequalities and exclusion, secessionist movements, and climate change.

Panels of experts discussed current political and conflict dynamics within the Sahel, the medium-term outlook for the region, and the role of international actors in supporting solutions to the Sahel’s challenges. The conference also addressed the conflict in Libya and how it impacts the Sahel.

This conference was a part of the FRIDE project "The Fragile Sahel: A Challenge for Europe," carried out in cooperation with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

About the Middle East Program

The Carnegie Middle East Program combines in-depth local knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to examine economic, sociopolitical, and strategic interests in the Arab world. Through detailed country studies and the exploration of key crosscutting themes, the Carnegie Middle East Program, in coordination with the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, provides analysis and recommendations in both English and Arabic that are deeply informed by knowledge and views from the region. The program has special expertise in political reform and Islamist participation in pluralistic politics.